Filmed mainly in Vienna's splendid "Musikvereinssaal," the Mozart
symphonies conducted by Karl Böhm are all interpreted by one of the world's
foremost orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, whose principal
conductors have included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Herbert von
Karajan, Claudio Abbado and, of course, Karl Böhm. "Thanks to Bruno
Walter's exemplary performances, particularly of Mozart's works, I grabbed
on to Mozart and fell in love with him so much that I had only one wish: to
conduct Mozart, Mozart, Mozart." (Karl Böhm)
Mozart wrote his first symphony in London in 1764/65 at the age of 8. The
boy sought his inspiration above all in the works of a German composer who
had settled in London: Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of the great
Johann Sebastian, who became a lifelong friend of Mozart and exerted a
strong influence on his style. The work reflects the Italian opera buffa
atmosphere of the young symphonic genre, and its freshness and experimental
delight in sonorities anticipate the inventiveness and mastery of Mozart's
later works.
Karl Böhm was universally acclaimed for his Mozart interpretations. Though
Wagner was one of Böhm's first loves, his friendship with Richard Strauss
led to a deep knowledge and appreciation of Mozart. In his autobiography,
Böhm wrote that "Richard Strauss revealed to me the ultimate secrets of
this, in my opinion, greatest of all musical geniuses, Mozart." Filmed in
Vienna's splendid "Musikvereinssaal", this work is interpreted by the
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestra with which Böhm made many of
his finest recordings.
The DVD is also released within the complete "Mozart / Böhm" DVD package which is available in selected stores worldwide and through Amazon or JPC.